TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Alauna Carstens (Jr.) of The Evergreen State College placed fourth in the women's 6-kilometer race with a time of 21:02.1 at the 2025 NAIA Cross Country National Championships on Friday, Nov. 21 at the Apalachee Regional Park. Max Baeder (Jr.) from Evergreen took 115th place in the men's 8-kilometer race in 26:04.7.

A total of 331 athletes completed the women's championship race. A total of 323 runners finished the men's championship race.

"Another great and epic performance by Alauna … fourth place!" said Evergreen Head Cross Country and Track and Field Coach Joel Pearson. "We had a race plan of starting out conservative and moving up just after halfway, and she did just that going from seventh to fourth over the second half of the race. She earned her sixth all American honor!"

Carstens was named an NAIA All-American for the second time in women's cross country. In addition to the pair of All-America honors in cross country in 2023 (15th place) and 2025 (4th place), she earned All-America recognition in NAIA indoor track and field in 2025 (3,000-meter run, 3rd place), NAIA outdoor track and field in 2024 (5,000-meter run, 7th place) and 2025 (10,000-meter run, 8th place), and the NAIA Marathon Classic in December of 2024 (1st place).

Jaynie Halterman from Taylor University (Ind.) won the women's 6-kilometer race in 20:13.2 as she broke her own NAIA Championships record. Halterman won by 30 seconds over Ellen-Mary Kearney from Milligan University (Tenn.), who placed second in 20:43.6. Heather Murphy from Montreat University (N.C.) was third at 20:46.1. Carstens followed in fourth place at 21:02.1, and Grace Steinmetz of Bellevue University (Neb.) placed fifth in 21:06.7.

Heidi Heldt of Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) grabbed sixth place at 21:22.9, with Sophia Noriega of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Ariz.) in seventh place at 21:26.5. Suzie Johnson from The Master's University (Calif.) took eighth in 21:27.2, Annabelle Stewart of Milligan was ninth in 21:29.1, and Alyssa Johnson from Southern Oregon University placed 10th in 21:35.7.

For the Evergreen men's team, it was Baeder's first time competing at an NAIA cross country championship event.

"I am very proud of Max, and excited he has more nationals to come," Pearson noted. "He had a great season, dropped his 8k personal record by over a minute, earned All-Conference honors, and qualified for nationals!"

The men's 8-kilometer race was won by Jack Anderson of The Master's, who registered a time of 24:15.4 to win by 1.8 seconds. Mason Weisgerber, running for Southern Oregon, was second in 24:17.2. Yemane Mulugeta of Trinity Western University (B.C., Canada) placed third at 24:26.5 and Carter Stedman from Southern Oregon was fourth at 24:33.5. Ishak Mekideche of the University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) earned fifth place in 24:34.6.

Brogan Collins of The Master's placed sixth with a time of 24:35.3. Tyler Jenkins of the University of Rio Grande (Ohio) followed in seventh place at 24:37.3, while Josh Bainbridge from Indiana Wesleyan University was eighth at 24:38.0. Caleb Sarsland of Dickinson State University (N.D.) placed ninth in 24:38.9. Two runners finished in 24:39.4, with Julius Makinen from Cumberlands placing 10th and Jack Gladfelter of Corban University (Ore.) placing 11th.

Taylor claimed the women's team championship with a score of 90 (1-12-15-18-44). Milligan was second at 109 and Dordt University (Iowa) was third at 136. The Master's placed fourth at 232, just in front of the College of Idaho, which placed fifth with a score of 233.

In the men's team standings, Indiana Wesleyan University took first place with a score of 117 (8-20-28-30-31), while The Masters's was second at 128. Cumberlands placed third at 160, Rocky Mountain College (Mont.) was fourth at 239, and Taylor placed fifth at 247. Evergreen did not field complete teams.

The NAIA National Championships completed Evergreen's 2025 cross country season. The Geoducks will be represented by several athletes at the NAIA Marathon Classic on Sunday, Dec. 14 in Dallas, Texas.

"It was a great way to cap off the end of the season," Evergreen Assistant Cross Country and Track and Field Coach Katie Burnett said. "We are so proud of Alauna's fourth place finish, leading other competitors from our conference. Max also performed well in his first cross country national meet, finishing well into the top half of the field."

"Another great day to be a Geoduck!" Pearson commented. "I'm really excited for the NAIA Marathon in Dallas!"